Target announced it will no longer open its doors on Thanksgiving. After closing its stores last year to curtail crowds during the pandemic, the company this year decided to make the holiday closure permanent. The move by many consumers to online shopping may have played a role in the decision.
“What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard,” Target CEO Brian Cornell said in a statement to employees. Employees “don’t have to wonder whether this is the last Thanksgiving you’ll spend with family and friends for a while,” the statement read.
The holiday shopping season started to creep into Thanksgiving Day 20 years ago when retailers began kicking off sales into the wee hours of the morning on Black Friday. Ten years later, Target and other major stores opened their doors on the holiday itself, creating a new shopping tradition. However, several retailers like Costco, Apple, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Nordstrom have never opened their doors on Thanksgiving. Now more businesses, including Target, are opting to close on Thanksgiving.
Here are the major retailers closed on Thanksgiving Day:
- Academy Sports + Outdoors
- Advance Auto Parts
- Apple
- At Home
- Banana Republic
- Barnes & Noble
- Bath & Body Works
- Bealls Florida
- Bealls Outlet
- Bed Bath & Beyond
- Belk
- Best Buy
- BJ’s Wholesale Club
- Boscov’s
- Burlington
- buybuy Baby
- Conn’s HomePlus
- Costco Wholesale Club
- Dick’s Sporting Goods
- Dillard’s
- DSW
- Eyemart Express
- Five Below
- Foot Locker
- GameStop
- Gap
- Guitar Center
- Hobby Lobby
- Home Depot
- HomeGoods
- Ikea
- JCPenney
- Joann Stores
- Kay Jewelers
- Kohl’s
- Lowe’s
- Macy’s
- Marshalls
- Menards
- Michaels
- Nordstrom
- Nordstrom Rack
- Office Depot and OfficeMax
- Old Navy
- Pandora
- Petco
- PetSmart
- REI
- Sam’s Club
- Sephora
- Shoe Carnival
- Staples
- Target
- TJ Maxx
- Ulta Beauty
- Vera Bradley
- Walmart
- World Market
- Zales
This year over 70% polled in Deloitte’s pre-Thanksgiving pulse survey said it was better if stores stayed closed. The survey was conducted the last week in October among 1,200 American adults.
